Wednesday, September 10, 2014

FSU Faculty Senate Rejects John Thrasher

The Florida State University’s Faculty Senate voted 2 to 1 against John Thrasher's candidacy for presidency.

“Be it resolved that we, the members of the Florida State University Faculty Senate, call upon the Presidential Search Advisory Committee not to recommend Senator Thrasher as a candidate for President of FSU. We further call upon the Board of Trustees not to hire Senator Thrasher as the next President of FSU. Senator Thrasher lacks the stated qualifications required for the position, whereas the other three finalists meet those qualifications. We encourage all faculty members to participate fully in the interview process and to submit comments.”

Thrasher's history of bringing pork to Florida State as a member of the legislature made it appear the job was his to lose. Other potential candidates didn't bother applying.

Search consultant Bill Funk told advisory committee members to give Thrasher a prompt “up or down” vote. Rumors that a powerhouse Republican lawmaker with deep ties to FSU is a shoo-in have deterred “premium potential candidates” from applying.

“We are not endorsing John for the role,” Funk said. “But we are saying that John is casting a long shadow. It’s limiting our opportunity to put together the kind of pool that this committee and that this university deserves.”

Thrasher is ethically challenged. Thrasher was reprimanded by the Florida House for lobbying on the floor for the Florida Board of Medicine. Thrasher had a clear conflict of interest as an elected representative and as a lobbyist.

This old post of mine details how Thrasher puts profit above education.

John Thrasher fought against the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment at the behest of developers. In the Florida Senate, Thrasher sponsored an education bill that required year end assessment tests. Thrasher's lobbying firm Southern Strategy was paid by testing firms to get more testing in k-12 education.